The approaches described in this section could be pursued, but are not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Computers are powerful tools for accessing and storing vast amounts of information. Computer databases are a common mechanism for storing information on computer systems. Databases can take many different forms. One typical database is a collection of tables having rows and columns of information. For example, a database table of employees may have a row for each employee, and the columns designating specifics about the employee, such as the employee's name, address, salary, etc.
One important aspect of databases is the speed at which they are able to retrieve information. The faster a given database is able to perform a search or retrieve requested information, the better user experience a user of the database will have. One way to improve the speed of a database is to create an index. Generally, an index is a data structure that improves the speed of retrieving data from the database at the cost of additional storage space. Improved methods relating to indexes may result in better searches, and are always needed.